Gary Neville named new Valencia head coach in shock appointment

"Valencia CF have today appointed Gary Neville as head coach until the end the season," said the Liga club in an official statement.

"He will officially take charge of the first team on Sunday 6 December ahead of the UEFA Champions League match against Lyon at Mestalla on Wednesday 9 December."

A media conference with the club's president Layhoon Chan and Gary Neville will be held on Thursday afternoon, 4pm (local time) at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium.

Valencia's billionaire chairman and owner Peter Lim from Singapore co-owns Salford City with Neville, and obviously has a high opinion of his ability to take such a perceived risk in appointing a relative novice to such a high-pressurised environment.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be given this opportunity with Valencia," said the England assistant coach Neville, who has stood down from his role with Sky Sports as a pundit with immediate effect.

Neville - a multiple Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup winner under Sir Alex Ferguson between 1992-2011 and England's most capped right-back with 85 caps - will continue with his role as assistant to the national coach Roy Hodgson as the country prepares for the Euro 2016 finals in France.

“I am really looking forward to working with the club’s talented group of players and am excited about the challenge ahead.”

Neville's brother Phil was appointed temporary head coach of Valencia until further notice following the resignation of Nuno on Sunday night. He will continue with his coaching duties alongside his brother.

Gary Neville recently completed completed his coaching Pro Licence course at St. George's Park. His brother Phil, his team-mate with United and England, has coaching experience with England's under-21 and under-17 teams.

Nuno announced his departure following a 1-0 loss to Sevilla, but said he had already informed chairman Peter Lim of his decision prior to kick-off.

Neville and Voro had been told to prepare to take charge of training on Tuesday according to reports in the Spanish press.

Nuno, 41, leaves the side ninth in Primera Liga and third in Group H of the Champions League, still with a shot of progressing to the knock-out stages.

In the statement, Valencia president Layhoon Chan said: “We are delighted to have secured Gary so quickly.

"He combines top level coaching experience through his role as a senior coach with the England national team and a world-class playing career with England and Manchester United.

“Throughout his career Gary has always shown great leadership both on and off the pitch.

"He is hugely respected in English football and it was his personal qualities which persuaded us that he was the right choice to lead Valencia until the end of the season."

“I'm delighted that Gary has decided to take this excellent opportunity. It's the right moment in time for him and I'm 100 per cent behind his decision to join Valencia as the new head coach.

As far as I’m concerned, this will be an extra string to his bow and the experience he will gain working in the Spanish league can only be beneficial to our work together with the England team. Gary’s commitment to The FA’s preparations for Euro 2016 will not be in any way affected by the fact that he will be coaching abroad during the next five months.

"Gary will be fully committed to preparing for the Euros in France and our friendly matches which begin in March against Germany and Holland. I wish him and his brother Phil the very best of luck as they prepare for their first match versus Lyon in the Champions League."

“In Spain there was a little bit of surprise because we thought it would be Phil [Neville] - who is assistant coach to Voro - who would manage the team until they find an experienced coach.” Maxedo added that there was uncertainty surrounding the appointment, especially given the recent performance of fellow British manager Moyes, who was sacked last month after less than a season in charge at Real Sociedad.

“To be honest we don’t know so far how good Gary Neville is as a coach,” adds Maxedo.

“David Moyes was fired after not doing a good job in Real Sociedad and Spanish people are thinking this situation could be similar (we can guess he doesn’t know Spanish football yet).

“We think it’s a good strategic decision but we can guess it doesn’t drive the Valencia supporters crazy.”